Welcome To The Container Tomato Jungle

It looks as though it's going to be another good year for container tomatoes. And yes, they are as delicious as they appear to be.

At Last, Butterbush Success!

I planted a container variety of butternut squash last year and saw the plants wither and die for no apparent reason. This year I planted the remaining six seeds and only one of them sprouted. As you can see, it's coming along quite nicely. Although I must admit that based on the pictures in the seed catalog and the hefty size of the container I'm using, I thought there would be more than three squash on the plant. But, it certainly has been a better result than no squash at all. I can't wait to find out how they taste.

Wonderberries! Wunderbar!

Oh yes, they take their sweet time. But the taste is well worth the wait! Luther Burbank wonderberries are truly wonderful.

Old MacDonald Had A Farmer's Market

Just because you have a garden, doesn't mean you can't patronize your local farmer's market(s) every now and then. You never know what you'll find that might strike your fancy. And while we may grow our own, few of us have resources vast enough to even begin cultivating the amazing variety that exists in nature's bounty.

So support your local food providers and take a look at what's available out there. A good place to start would be local newspapers. And of course, there is always the internet.

No Complaints Here

The months of April and May have been cooler than normal. And while this may be a problem for some, for cool weather plants such as lettuce, those extra days have been a godsend. And those of us who enjoy fresh greens have no complaints at all about that.

Black Gold

Although the term black gold may cause many to think of oil or perhaps The Ballad of Jed Clampett, in gardening it means only one thing, compost. As I removed the cover of my compost container today to add more organic material to the mix, I saw something I had never seen before. White wisps resembling steam rising from the surface of the contents within. It was an indication that the composting process was proceeding as it should and that the past few days of record setting warmth that we have experienced were coming to an end. For only in cooler temperatures could I see this phenomena. And only when the surface of the composting materials had not yet been frozen over by temps below the freezing point of water. All is well. Spring is only about four weeks away, at least as far as the calender is concerned. That's plenty of time to produce more black gold for the garden.

To Every Thing, Turn, Turn, Turn

Normally at this time of year, the only things I'd be turning with any regularity would be a shovel full of snow and a key in an ignition. However, this year is different. How different? Consider this, yesterday's high in the mid 60s broke a record that had existed since the 1880s. And today, another record was broken when we hit 70. This is definitely not the norm for February here in NWI. As a result, I found myself giving the compost pile a few good turns. Something that would usually have been impossible in late February since most of it would have been a block of ice.

I don't know what Mother Nature has in store for us. But I'm hoping that March won't come in like the lion in winter. Sure, we're bound to get some snow between now and the first day of spring. We need some just to get back to average. Let's hope it won't all come in one day or even one weekend.